I have been interested in metal detecting for a long time, but never did much about it until recently. Several years ago I wound up with an old Teknetics 8500 in a "horse trade". I hear that it was a good MD in its day, but this one had a problem with the battery clips, so I never really used it enough to develop any skill. Recently, I became interested again and thanks to all the information on the web, I decided to buy a Garrett. I now have a GTI 1500 and a Pro-Pointer. Although I still haven't had much time to really get familiar with the 1500, I think I made a good choice. I have already learned a lot from this forum, and I look forward to learning more. I live in central Alabama, and to my knowledge there is no MD club nearer than Birmingham. There is an electronics dealer in Montgomery who sells detectors, but it is not a major part of his business, so he doesn't seem to know anything about his customers once they pay him and walk out the door. I'm very glad to learn that there is a group of people on this forum who are not only willing, but eager to help us newbies. I was involved in amateur radio for over 30 years, but I think I will enjoy this more. Thanks again, guys.